Heat and a lack of rain have made Chatham, along with the rest of Morris, Sussex and Somerset counties highly susceptible to forest fires, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The state has seen almost twice as many (873) fires in since Jan. 1 than in all of 2011 (465), the state Forest Fire Service said. The fires in 2012 have burned over 2,800 acres, compared to about 650 acres in 2011.
The state has placed the area at Stage No. 1 in fire restriction rating system, which means most outdoor fires are prohibited, unless the fire is located in a properly constructed ring. According to state regulations, such a ring must be constructed of steel, stone, brick, or concrete with a gravel or masonry base.
Agricultural open burning is still permitted.
"All fine dead fuels ignite readily and fires start easily from most causes," the Forest Fire Service said on its website. "Unattended brush and campfires are likely to escape. Fires spread rapidly and short-distance spotting is common. High-intensity burning may develop on slopes or in concentrations of fine fuels. Fires may become serious and their control difficult unless they are attacked successfully while small."
Rich
10:40 am on Friday, July 13, 2012
"Agricultural open burning is still permitted." quoted from this article. WT..?
I hate to use this forum to raise the Commercial Farming Ordinance that our Committee just passed, but it is extremely important because the Ordinance allows open AGRICULTURAL BURNING!. To make matters worse, the Committee approved several properties adjacent the Chatham's Superfund site. Originally, they included the Supefund Site in it (see http://chatham.patch.com/articles/superfund-site-removed-from-farming-properties).
Now since some of the pro-farming contingent are going to chime in that I am an alarmist. We have already had fires that broke out at the Superfund that lasted for days blowing god knows what into our lungs. (See the EPA report here http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/Rolling%20Knolls%20Landfill/RollingKnollsLandfillPHA070506.pdf on page 7). Mayor Hagner works for one of the Responsible Parties for creating the site on the site, I am sure she can provide a complete list of all the wastes her company dumped there.
Now, I have a question for Mayor Hagner and Committeeman Brower & Abbott Abbott, why would you do something this risky to our community? Please account for yourselves!
Now we know Abbott did it as a FAVOR for her landscaping service (see http://chatham.patch.com/articles/committee-to-move-foward-with-farming-ordinance)
Mayor Hagner's property was included (see here http://chatham.patch.com/articles/market-garden-ordinance-up-for-final-adoption)
llbxy
12:23 pm on Friday, July 13, 2012
"I hate to use this forum to raise the Commercial Farming Ordinance that our Committee just passed" - no you don't! You do it every chance you get!
Rich
12:41 pm on Friday, July 13, 2012
Alright! You got me! But when it says "AGRICULTURAL BURNING", you don't think I have the right to point out the stupidity in our local elected officials. If they are this incompetent, do you really want them playing with fire at or near a Superfund Site? The only thing I keep hearing in my head is "KABOOM" and us poor Chathamites running for our lives!! You saw bad of a job our local officials did last year with the snow storm and the tropical storm. Forget Osama, we got ourselves "bin Brower" problem.
http://www.savegreenvillage.com/
Dave 2
1:37 pm on Friday, July 13, 2012
Where does it say "Agricultural Burning" is permitted under the ordinance?
Sir
2:33 pm on Friday, July 13, 2012
Environmentalists please go away and don't come back. Oh yeah, while you are leaving, take your community organizer with you.
Dave 2
3:10 pm on Friday, July 13, 2012
I am not Dan Miller, I am Dave.
Dave 2
3:01 pm on Friday, July 13, 2012
Where does it state that the Township used the Model [Right To] Farm Ordinance as a basis?? The Market Garden Ordinance is not an amendment to or even associated with the Right To Farm Act, which has been documented countless times. Again, your comments are misleading and a waste of our time...Please dont play the people of Chatham as if they were stupid by posting your hack website and articals in an effort to mislead the situation at hand. Remember, these are the people that you think will vote for you for Township Committee.
Dave 2
3:20 pm on Friday, July 13, 2012
I promise.
Dave 2
4:28 pm on Friday, July 13, 2012
Mr. Templin - I know the facts very well and what you are doing and saying is wrong. I am only here to challenge your every misleading statement, lie and accusation. You seem to think you can drum up an audience by misleading and scaring the residents of Chatham by posting your hack web site and post one sided false statements. The truth is, people are not following this story or these posts because it is so ridicules (notice it is only you and I posting back and forth). I am extremely knowledgeable of my rights and the laws of this great Country. Please don’t try and scare me with your childish "the police are watching.." This response is a typical reaction from you when proven wrong. You keep posting lies, misleading statements, false accusations and I will keep making you look like a fool, its that simple.
Dave 2
7:36 am on Saturday, July 14, 2012
Who can't follow their own posts? This section is about the County under high fire warning, not Wegmans. Thoses in glass houses sould not throw stones.
carol
9:14 am on Saturday, July 14, 2012
Those in glass houses should learn how to write and spell.
Patch Rapscallion
12:05 am on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
I agree, forest fires are bad
jimmy
10:12 pm on Wednesday, October 17, 2012
All of Templin's credentials are false...he is a fraud... do the fact check. He is full of lies and harasses and attacks anyone who doesn't agree with his ridiculous views. He actually lives in NY, not Chatham, so why is he running for Chatham Township Committee...check the facts. Don't vote for Richard Erich Templin that got fired from Pfizer. A vote for Templin is a vote for a dick!